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Peter “Hopper” Stone/ABC“Modern Family” received 14 Emmy nominations on Thursday, the most of any comedy.

In three seasons, ABC’s “Modern Family” has gone from upstart to juggernaut, replacing “30 Rock” as Emmy’s favorite sitcom and, unlike that show, managing impressive ratings at the same time. “Modern Family” won the award for best comedy last year, and on Thursday, was again nominated for the honor, one of 14 total. All six of its adult stars also received acting nods for the second year in a row.

More coverage of the Emmy Awards, including reports, interviews with nominees and more.

Earlier, we heard from one of those actors, Ty Burrell, but we also spoke with the show’s co-creators, Christopher Lloyd and Steven Levitan about the keys to the show’s sweeping popularity. (Hint: It helps to have an awkward writing staff.) These are excerpts from separate conversations with Mr. Lloyd and Mr. Levitan.

Q.

“Modern Family” received another spate of nominations this year. Does it ever start to feel routine?

A.

Mr. Levitan: I was lying in bed with my eyes wide open at about 4:30 this morning, so I think that means I’m still thinking about it.Mr. Lloyd: Shows inevitably decline in quality, so we push ourselves to work a little harder each year to keep the level up. There are no true barometers of that, but the Emmys are kind of one of them, so we do have a little sigh of relief and a moment where we say, “All right, we’re still doing a pretty good show here.”

Q.

Your show has managed to be very popular among viewers, critics and awards panels. What’s the key to its broad appeal?

A.

Mr. Levitan: We try to strike a nice balance between doing things that are really funny and doing shows that have some heart in them. We want the audience to really laugh, but at the same time, in our minds, a really successful show is one in which they also feel something.Mr. Lloyd: The X factor is our cast. You cast good actors and hope something magical happens with their chemistry, and that’s what happened for us.

Q.

What’s it going to take to get the kids nominations? They’re the only ones without them at this point.

A.

Mr. Lloyd: Unfortunately, the field is pretty crowded with their co-stars, so unless they can convince some of their cast mates to move aside, I don’t know that that’s going to happen [laughs]. The kids really are our secret weapon. So many family shows just trot them through every three or four episodes to remind you that you’re dealing with a family. But we have kids prominent every week because we have these great actors.

Q.

Do your home lives still inspire the story lines?

A.

Mr. Lloyd: Without a doubt. The first questions we ask in the writers room are, “What stupid thing did you do at home this weekend? In what way were you a terrible parent? In what manner did you embarrass yourself in front of your wife or vice versa?” We almost encourage our writers over hiatus to go home and just do outrageous, humiliating things.Mr. Levitan: I just finished writing a story line about the day that we took my daughter to college, which happened last year. So Phil and Claire are taking Haley to college, and it’s about what that day is like for them. I think it’s going to be really sweet, and I think it’s very accurate.

Q.

Do you ever worry about strip-mining your lives to the point that you’re out of stories?

A.

Mr. Levitan: That’s another thing that keeps me awake at night. Fortunately, we all still lead active lives, and our kids are doing their part to make sure there’s plenty of stuff to talk and argue about.Mr. Lloyd: We hired an awkward-enough writing staff that we can rely upon them finding themselves in ever more embarrassing situations, which is only good for us.

Q.

One of the things Emmy-watchers are talking about today is the increasing dominance of cable series in the nominations. Why do you think this is? Are the networks at a disadvantage?

A.

Mr. Lloyd: Somewhat, because there are things you do to try to appeal to a broader audience and things you have to do when you make as many episodes as you have to make for broadcast. It’s hard to make 24 episodes of a show. The assembly line is moving a little faster for broadcast; you can kind of take your time a little bit more in cable. In broadcast, there’s an expression: “It doesn’t have to be good, it has to be good enough.” Because you have another one coming next week.Mr. Levitan: With drama, especially, it seems like the bigger the budgets and the edgier the characters, the more interesting they are. We’re very lucky because “Modern Family” wouldn’t fit on cable: they’d want us to push it more and be edgier and turn it into something that it’s not.

Q.

There were no network shows on the best drama list, but the comedy category was split down the middle — three cable shows, three network shows. Why do networks seem to be doing better at comedy?

A.

Mr. Lloyd: In some ways, that’s probably a function of budget. It’s hard to put on a good comedy because you need a lot of hands on deck. Having been on a lot of comedy writing staffs, the larger your staff, probably the better your product is going to be.

Q.

One of your couples is gay, and the gay marriage issue, in general, continues to be a political football. Is that on your mind when you’re planning the story lines?

A.

Mr. Levitan: Sure, definitely. It’s a big responsibility to make sure that we’re saying things that we believe. Not approaching everything with an agenda, but just making sure that we’re true to that experience. I read in The Times that both Barack Obama and Mitt Romney watch “Modern Family,” so somehow we’re speaking to those who believe and those who don’t. And I think that’s a great thing because we’re not just preaching to the choir.

Q.

Do you feel added pressure when you’re working on Cameron and Mitch story lines? Do you worry about how things will be interpreted?

A.

Mr. Levitan: Yes, but not in a bad way. In a really good way. The fact that people care and that it seems that we have some influence on people, I welcome that responsibility. I’d rather it be in our hands than in the hands of those who are intolerant.